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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Greenfield (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Greenfield. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Greenfield is located in Hennepin County.

To see how the shape of Minnesota's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Hennepin County: Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne & Wright.

Below are the counties that are near Greenfield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Greenfield:

  • Hennepin County     (The home county of Greenfield)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenfield, with the one closest to Greenfield listed first.
    • Loretto
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Independence
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Independence is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,786 people
    • Corcoran
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Maple Plain
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Medina
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hamel
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Rogers
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Rogers is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,623 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogers <1>
    • Long Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Orono
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Orono is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orono
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,348 people
    • Maple Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Mound
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Mound is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,404 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mound <1>
    • Crystal Bay
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Crystal Bay is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Bay
  • Anoka County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenfield, with the one closest to Greenfield listed first.
    • Anoka
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ramsey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Coon Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Coon Creek is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
    • Coon Rapids
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Fridley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Andover
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Nowthen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Nowthen is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nowthen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,732 people
    • Columbia Heights
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Hilltop
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Hilltop is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 764 people
    • Spring Lake Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Blaine
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Cedar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Carver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenfield, with the one closest to Greenfield listed first.
    • Watertown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Victoria
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Hazelton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Hazelton is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelton
    • Mayer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hazeltine
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Hazeltine is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazeltine
    • Waconia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Chanhassen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Hollywood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Hollywood is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
    • Hydes Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Hydes Lake is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydes Lake
    • New Germany
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Chaska
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Dahlgren
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Dahlgren is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlgren
  • Dakota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenfield, with the one closest to Greenfield listed first.
    • Mendota
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Nicols
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Nicols is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
    • Burnsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Lilydale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Lilydale is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilydale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
    • Mendota Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Isanti County
    • Crown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Crown is located in Isanti County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
  • McLeod County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenfield, with the one closest to Greenfield listed first.
    • Winsted
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lester Prairie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Plato
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Silver Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Meeker County
    • Dassel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Ramsey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenfield, with the one closest to Greenfield listed first.
    • Mounds View
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • New Brighton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Lauderdale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Lauderdale is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauderdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,484 people
    • Arden Hills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Falcon Heights
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Roseville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Shoreview
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Cardigan Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Cardigan Junction is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardigan Junction
    • Little Canada
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • North Oaks
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Saint Paul
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Vadnais Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenfield, with the one closest to Greenfield listed first.
    • Shakopee
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Marystown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Marystown is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marystown
    • Savage
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jordan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Prior Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Sherburne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenfield, with the one closest to Greenfield listed first.
    • Big Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Elk River
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Salida
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Salida is located in Sherburne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salida
    • Becker
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Becker is located in Sherburne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becker
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,033 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Becker <1>
    • Orrock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Orrock is located in Sherburne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrock
    • Zimmerman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Zimmerman is located in Sherburne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,135 people
      • Zimmerman has also been known as:
      • Lake Fremont
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Zimmerman <1>
    • Clear Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Stearns County
    • Fairhaven
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Fairhaven is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
  • Wright County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenfield, with the one closest to Greenfield listed first.
    • Rockford
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Hanover
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Delano
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Michael
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Albertville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Buffalo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Otsego
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Montrose
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Waverly
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Monticello
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Rassat
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Rassat is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rassat
    • Maple Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Greenfield, see our County-by-County Page for Greenfield.

Cemeteries Near Greenfield ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Greenfield.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Greenfield - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Greenfield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Greenfield, with the one closest to Greenfield listed first.

  • Elmwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Salem Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Reich Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Janes Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Olive East Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Old St. Thomas Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • St. Thomas Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (300 more) ...
    • Lewis Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Anna Mason Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • St. Michael Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<2>

While we didn't find Greenfield in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Greenfield.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Greenfield, with the one closest to Greenfield listed first.

  • Rockford
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Burschville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Burschville is located in Hennepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burschville
  • Hanover
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Delano
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Maple Plain
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Corcoran
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Hamel
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Long Lake
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Rogers
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Rogers is located in Hennepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,623 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogers <1>
  • Ditter
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Ditter is located in Hennepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ditter
  • Buffalo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Montrose
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Spring Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Maple Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Otsego
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Greenfield. See our List of 1890's Communities around Greenfield.

Newspapers Published in Greenfield ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 373 newspapers that have been published in the area around Greenfield.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Greenfield, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Greenfield.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Greenfield:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Greenfield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Greenfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.